Candidiasis (e.g., oral, gastrointestinal, vaginal, urinary tract, systemic) is a worldwide growing problem, since antifungal resistance and immunosuppression states are rising. To address this problem, very few drugs are available for the treatment of Candida spp. infections. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are urgently required. Probiotics have been proposed for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections due to their safety record and efficacy, however, little is still known about their potential role regarding fungal infections. The purpose of this review is to present an updated summary of the evidence of the antifungal effects of probiotics along with a discussion of their potential use as an alternative/complementary therapy against Candida spp. infections. Thus, we performed a literature search using appropriate keywords ("Probiotic?+?Candida", "Candidiasis treatment", and "Probiotic?+?candidiasis") to retrieve relevant studies (both preclinical and clinical) with special emphasis on the works published in the last 5?years. An increasing amount of evidence has shown the potential usefulness of probiotics in the management of oral and vulvovaginal candidiasis in recent years. Among other results, we found that, as for bacterial infections, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Saccharomyces are the most studied and effective genus for this purpose. However, in other areas, particularly in skincandidiaisis, studies are low or lacking. Thus, further investigation is necessary including in vitro and in vivo studies to establish the usefulness of probiotics in the management of candidiasis.Renal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are infrequent vascular morphological anomalies. About 20% of AVMs are congenital renal AVMs (CRAVMs). A 53-year-old female patient presented with a 5-day history of gross hematuria and right flank pain. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/azd3229.html The patient underwent the selective renal arteriography and embolization under local anesthesia. Renal computed tomography angiography (CTA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) results showed bleeding of the right renal arteriovenous malformation, both nidus and aneurysm, which indicated that the patient had both cirsoid and cavernosal types of CRAVM. Endovascular management was chosen to treat the patient. The patient was cured and discharged, then followed-up for 3 months. These results show that early identification using radiologic tests is important for diagnosis and treatment of CRAVM.This study investigated the efficacy and safety of superselective transcatheter arterial embolization for angiomyolipoma at the renal hilum.
Between August 2012 and January 2015, 13 patients with 16 angiomyolipomas at the renal hilum underwent initial, prophylactic, superselective transcatheter arterial embolization. The patients were followed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, and volume-reduction ratios after embolization were measured.
The mean or median post-embolization volume reduction ratios were 23% (follow-up duration, 1-2 months), 55% (3-6 months), 55% (7-12 months), 66% (1-2 years), 67% (2-3 years), and 54% (&gt;3 years). After initial embolization, none of the 16 tumors bled or required surgery; two (13%) tumors recurred; and three (19%) tumors received repeat embolization. Estimated glomerular filtration rates were not decreased at medians of 7 days (near the time of discharge) and 39 days (first clinical follow-up) post-procedure, compared with baseline. Except for post-embolization syndrome, no procedure-related complications occurred.
Superselective embolization for renal hilar angiomyolipoma is safe and kidney-preserving, with good tumor volume reduction and bleeding prevention.
Superselective embolization for renal hilar angiomyolipoma is safe and kidney-preserving, with good tumor volume reduction and bleeding prevention.Although a number of studies have shown that the occurrence and progression of osteoarthritis (OA) is related to endocrine system dysfunction, there is limited evidence about what roles sex hormones play. The aim of the present study was to examine the capacity of 17β-estradiol (ED) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to alter the differentiation of bone marrow (BM) cells in arthritic mice. The experiments were conducted in collagenase-induced osteoarthritis in mice. Cartilage degradation was observed by safranin and toluidine blue staining. Flow cytometry was used to define different BM and synovial cell populations. The influence of FSH and ED on osteoclastogenesis was studied in BM cultures and on the osteoblastogenesis in primary calvarial cultures. The levels of IL-8, TNF-α, FSH, and osteocalcin were estimated by ELISA. FSH increased cartilage degradation and serum osteocalcin levels, while ED abolished it and lowered serum osteocalcin. FSH elevated the percentage of monocytoid CD14+/RANK+ and B cell CD19+/RANK+ cells in contrast to ED which inhibited the accumulation of these osteogenic populations. Also, ED changed the percentage of CD105+/F4/80+ and CD11c+ cells in the synovium. FSH augmented and ED suppressed macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)?+?receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast (OC) formation, and this correlated with a respective increase and decrease of IL-8?secretion. FSH did not influence osteoblast (OB) formation while ED enhanced this process in association with changes of TNF-α, IL-8, and osteocalcin production. ED reduced osteoclast generation in bone. The key outcome of the current study is that both hormones influenced BM cell differentiation, with FSH favoring osteoclast formation and ED favoring osteoblast accumulation.A mandatory universal salt iodization (USI) has been implemented in Sarawak since 2008.
The aim of this study is to assess the current iodine status among school-aged children (SAC) and pregnant women (PW) after 10 years of USI implementation in Sarawak.
This cross-sectional survey among school-aged children and pregnant women was conducted between July and October 2018 in Sarawak. The multistage proportionate to population size sampling technique was used to select 30 schools and 30 maternal and child health care clinics. A total of 1200 children aged 8 to 10 years and 750 first-trimester pregnant women were randomly selected to participate in the study. Iodine excretion level in urine was determined according to the World Health Organization classification.
A total of 988 children and 677 PW participated in the study with a response rate of 82.3% and 90.2%, respectively. The overall median UIC level among the children was 126.0 μg/L (interquartile range [IQR], 71.0-200.9 μg/L) and classified as adequate iodine status.